Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - Kyrgyzstan (Ratification: 2008)

Other comments on C097

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 1 of the Convention. Information on national policies, laws and regulations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that legislation concerning labour migration has been adopted for the implementation of the Convention. The Committee notes in particular Law No. 61 of 17 July 2000 on external migration that regulates the entry of foreign citizens in the country as well as Decree No. 639 of 2006 which regulates labour activities of migrant workers. The Committee also notes Law No. 4 of 13 January 2006 on Foreign Labour Migration which regulates the conditions for the departure of labour migrants and their protection. The Committee will provide relevant comments on Law No. 4 of 13 January 2006 in its next report, once the translation of the law is made available. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effective implementation of this Law, as well as Law No. 61 of 17 July 2000 on external migration, Decree No. 639 of 2006 and any other law related to working and living conditions of migrant workers. Please indicate any obstacles and problems encountered for their implementation. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the competencies of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Migration and the State Committee for Migration and Employment with respect to the implementation of the Convention.

The Committee notes the drafting of the state programme on the regulation of labour migration and promotion of employment in crisis (2010–12). The Committee notes that this programme contained measures for the increase in the level of awareness and information for labour migrants and the setting up of state structures for legal employment and social protection of citizens abroad. It also provided for the establishment of sanctions for illegal employment, for the improvement of the system of data collection and statistics of labour migration and for increased cooperation with the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan for the improvement of the working and living conditions of migrant workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if the state programme for 2010–12 was implemented, and to provide information on the results obtained and the obstacles found with respect to migrant workers, including stateless persons and refugees authorized to work as well as Kyrgyz workers migrating abroad. Please also indicate if a new state programme has been drafted and approved for the current period.

Bilateral agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has concluded bilateral agreements with Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Republic of Korea. Kyrgyzstan is also party to the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990, and the Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, 2008. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the impact of these agreements on the working conditions of both migrant workers in the country as well as Kyrgyz citizens migrating abroad, and on any difficulty in their implementation. Please also provide information on any new agreement signed.

Articles 2 and 3. Information and misleading propaganda. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a policy is being put in place to inform the public with respect to departure, residence and recruitment of Kyrgyz citizens abroad and is establishing offices for the protection of the rights of migrant workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which this policy operates as well as how this policy or any other measures ensure that migrant workers are not victims of misleading propaganda relating to emigration and immigration.

Article 4. The Committee requests the Government to provide concrete information on the measures taken or encouraged to facilitate departure, journey and reception of Kyrgyz citizens abroad, in the framework of Law No. 4 of 13 January 2006 on Foreign Labour Migration which regulates the conditions for the departure of labour migrants and their protection, and any other relevant legislation.

Article 6. Equality of treatment. The Committee notes that according to Article 4 of Act No. 6 of 2000, migration management shall be based on the principles of free choice of place of residence, freedom of labour and movement and the inadmissibility of discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, sex, race, nationality, language, religion, political or religious beliefs or any other reason. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which Article 4 of Act No. 6 of 2000 is implemented in practice, in particular with respect to all the matters enumerated in Article 6(a)–(d). Please also indicate if this provision covers all categories of migrant workers, including those with temporary residence as well as stateless persons and asylum seekers working in the country.

Article 8. Maintenance of residence in the event of incapacity for work. According to Act No. 61 of 2000, a visa or residence permit can be refused on the ground that the migrant worker is not able to sustain himself or his dependants. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if this also applies to migrant workers who have been admitted on a permanent basis or to the members of his or her family, because the migrant is unable to follow his or her occupation by reason of illness contracted or injury sustained subsequent to entry.

Annex I of the Convention. The Committee notes that the state programme for migration and employment 2010–12 provided for measures for the creation of a system for legal employment of citizens abroad through private employment services. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the legal regime of private employment agencies as well as the services and the information that they provide. Please indicate whether the services provided to migrant workers by these agencies are free of charges.

Statistical information. Noting that the state programme for migration and employment 2010–12 provided for the creation of a database to record entry and exit of citizens in the country, the Committee requests the Government to provide information concerning the number of ingoing and outgoing migrant workers, the sectors of occupation and whether they migrated with the assistance of an employment agency or not.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2015.]